Questions and Answers ...

POP haz them:

I just have to wonder, what is the point of the Republicans fighting President Obama every step of the way? Would they rather see our country totally experience a financial meltdown than maybe just give a little and put their politics aside? [my em]

...

That would be a "yes", darlin'. Personally, I think they have something big to hide and they'd rather let us go under than have it exposed. Too many of 'em would go to jail if it were. I'm dying to know what it is.

Update:

And for a well thought out answer (as opposed to my early morning wisecracks), go see the Oracle of Well Thought Out.

Whorage ...

Check out my 42-inch Brain. Heh ...

Click to embiggen.

Got my flatscreen up plus some decorating in the house.

And what it's like to be an anal German.

Wingnut Welfare Drying Up

Obviously a regular reader of the Brain, Paul Krugman follows up on Fixer's post:

From the Journal:

The jobless rate is hanging high — for many of the roughly 3,000 political appointees who served President George W. Bush. Finding work has proved a far tougher task than those appointees expected.

OK, let’s have our minute of Schadenfreude … now let’s talk about why this is significant.

As an economist, I’m supposed to believe in incentives; and the remarkable cohesiveness of conservatives has a lot to do with incentives.

Show some independence, and you’ll face a lavishly financed primary challenge from the Club for Growth. Be a loyal soldier, and you will be taken care of — through what’s commonly referred to as “wingnut welfare.”

Thus, lose an election, and a think tank with the usual funding sources will create an America’s Enemies program for you to direct. Mess up the occupation of Iraq, and you’ll be appointed to run the World Bank; mess up there, and there’s still a chair waiting for you at AEI.

But it appears that wingnut welfare is breaking down when it comes to former Bush officials. Is this the beginning of the end for movement conservatism?

Some 'comments':

No, its just the beginning of the ‘George W. wasn’t a real conservative’ campaign (so conservatism can’t be blamed for his mistakes).

Maybe there’s just too many of them to deal with. It’s like being faced with an ally’s refugees when a crisis hits.

Re-education camps, perhaps?

Ah, yesssss...

Perhaps not for conservatism; the beliefs of conservatives have withstood reality for generations, and almost certainly will continue to do so.

Nothing makes me happier than knowing 2,000 passively evil idots who sold out their country can’t find work. I invite them to go to Iraq and look for opportunities there. Fox keeps saying there’s a big democratic success story there.

I think three million Iraqi widows will be delighted to see them.

Many more.

In related rumors, former Bush appointees are queuing up for space under bridges in the better conservative suburbs and rural districts with Wal-Marts (possible employment?), an increasing number of beat-up Lexuses are being seen with their back seats folded down to provide sleeping space, and refrigerator cartons are going for record prices on the spot market.

Heh.

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

Tax Cuts in Stimulus Will Offer Immediate Help
They'll help pay higher state taxes.

There's nothing wrong with your set. That sobbing sound is coming from me.

Neanderthal Genome Mapping Near Completion
So far it closely resembles genome of humans who don't believe Neanderthals ever existed.

Furious CNBC Reporter Blames Low Income Homebuyers for Crisis
Apparently they consistently tricked the world's largest financial institutions into lending them money.

OBITUARIES

Mr. Peanut, 93
Of salmonella poisoning.

Marijuana Legalization More Popular than Key Conservative Leaders

Matthew Yglesias

Needless to say, support for marijuana legalization is pretty much a “fringe” view in national politics. And it certainly doesn’t have majority support. And yet put it in perspective and this is what you get.

To further put it in perspective, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if hemorrhoids are more popular than Conservative Leaders. I know they have more socially redeeming qualities.

Stimulus ...

We were out stimulating the economy on Long Island all weekend getting stuff for the new construction (Home Depot was happy to see us after 2 weeks vacation "About time you showed up; we had to lay off three people since you been gone.") and installing some of the lighting. I was also hanging artwork ("A little to the left; no, a little to the right; no, up a little, no down a little."), and wiring the entertainment center. Oy!

So, while I'm doing all this, I had CNN on as background noise and I hear the Rethug 4, the governors who say they won't accept the stimulus money, with their made-up excuses for not taking federal largess. I wonder if the residents of their respective states feel the same way and will remember come Election Day.

I'm with our Senator Schumer (a first) that whatever money they don't take should be spread to the states who do. Fuck 'em. The sad thing is, I know Louisiana could benefit from the cash, so could Mississippi, and I feel for the folks in those states but hey, you elected these assholes. We can use the scratch.

That said, I got an infrastructure project for ya. My street. Jesus H. Christ, I haven't seen it this bad in 35 years. Good god, driving home is like taking a lap on the Goodyear test track. I asked Mrs. F yesterday, as we're approaching the house and I swerve to miss a crater, "Hey, baby, how long have we been living on the Moon?." Hey, Suffolk County Department of Public Works, Barry gave you the bread; start paving, mofos.

Off to work. Construction pics later.

If there was any doubt ...

The 'justice' process at Guantanamo was a flawed, kangaroo-esque, endeavor, this should assuage them:

...

Seven prosecutors have resigned from the military commissions process in protest. These aren't bleeding heat liberal hippies --- they're prosecutors. And from this man's account, these prosecutions are so tainted by disorganization alone that it's nearly impossible to imagine that justice can be done.

...

Indeed. For a JAG lawyer to resign, let alone seven of them, the moral outrage must be pretty high. I hope Obama puts an end to this quickly. It is a bloody, festering sore on the ass of America.

Holbrooke on Clustereffistan

Don't miss this. Runs about 40 minutes.

"We don' gotta play you no stinkin' chicken songs..."

...but we will. A song about a man on a mission and the baddest fighting chicken ever 'til he met a badder one, by one of the best singer-songwriters out there! And believe me, 'out there' ain't far off the mark. I'm a huge fan. A little commentary after the song as well.

Tom Russell ~ Gallo del Cielo

Note: Since Dave Alvin mentioned "Blue Wing", you can hear Tom sing it to a bunch of truly misconfused Norwegians by looking for it in the thumbnails at the end of the video, or here.

Thanks to johntaine, who makes and sells DVDs you may be interested in.

Ice Ice Baby

This one's for MandT because all theirs melted. It's raining today and this one's melting too.

Click to embiggen.

"Almost level, West Virginia"

Watch this.


Thank you to HeadOnRadioNetwork. These folks are good Americans and subversives.

Free Concert!

I was just over at YouTube marveling at the plethora of Mary McCaslin songs that has magically appeared lately, thank you garrufat. Anyway, I went to her site, and lo and beholds, there was a link to this concert! And so far, it's free...

Bramble & The Rose, mentioned in the text below, is just about my favorite album ever. I wore out two vinyl copies and thank god for CDs!

Let's see how well this works. You can play just the one song to start. I chose it 'specially for you.

Mary McCaslin - vocals, guitar
Jim Ringer - vocals, guitar

Mary McCaslin and Jim Ringer performed separately as folk artists on the same circuit for years. They had known each other since 1972, and became fast friends. Eventually Ringer, who was married with children, began performing as a duo with McCaslin. The year after this show was recorded he divorced, and they were married. He and McCaslin stayed together professionally and personally until 1989; three years later, Ringer (who had been in declining health from years of fast living) died at age 56.

This recording features the duo in their prime, when they were promoting songs that appeared on the album Bramble & The Rose in 1978. Tracks such as their interpretation of the Ray Charles composition “Hit The Road, Jack” and the country classic “(Ghost) Riders In The Sky” provide new arrangements that juxtaposed McCaslin’s sweet soprano against Ringer’s beefy baritone. This recording was done at the Bottom Line in New York City and was part of a two-night stand when they opened for the Roches.

The two performers had seen limited success on their own and eventually hooked up while on the Philo folk label. Philo marketed the duo as best they could but ran into financial problems shortly after the Bramble & The Rose album was released. As a result, McCaslin and Ringer never received the recognition they should have found in their prime.

McCaslin came from a supportive family life, which allowed for a balance against the hard-knock artistry of Jim Ringer, a drifter who had been jailed several times for getting into trouble with police over the years. While the two performers may have a very limited celebrity, they made great music for the time they worked together.

Getting in touch ...

With 'regular' Americans. Nice to see they have the same problems we do:

...

Only 25% to 30% of ex-Bush officials seeking full-time jobs have succeeded, estimated Eric Vautour, a Washington recruiter at Russell Reynolds Associates Inc. That "is much, much worse" than when Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton left the White House, he said. At least half those presidents' senior staffers landed employment within a month after the administration ended, Mr. Vautour recalled.

...

They all deserve to be living in under a bridge in a refrigerator box.

Great thanks to Mr. Mass Transit for the link.

Why men shouldn't write advice columns

Got this by e-mail from my old school pal Steve:

Dear Walter,

I hope you can help me here. The other day, I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't driven more than a mile down the road when the engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbors' daughter. I'm 32, my husband is 34, and the neighbors' daughter is 22.

We have been married for ten years. When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the past six months. I told him to stop or I'd leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant.

He won't go to counseling and I'm afraid I can't get through to him anymore.

Can you please help?

Sincerely,

Sheila

--------------------------------

Dear Sheila:

A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine... Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it's clear, check the vacuum pipes and hoses on the intake manifold and also check all grounding wires. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the injectors.

I hope this helps,

WALTER

Then again, maybe the engine just wasn't warmed up yet...

Saturday Crazy Tejano Music Blogging

Sort of "If you got the money, honey, I got the time" in Spanglish. My favorite line is

Bring all of your papers
I'll supply all the vapors...

Heh.

Oh squeeze it Flacito

Texas Tornados ~ Dinero

Thanks to dickTed.

Watch this space...

Special Representative Richard Holbrooke is back from Clusterfuckistan for a few days and appeared last night with Charlie Rose for 40 minutes. As soon as the video is up I will post it or link you to it.

There is no magic bullet for Afghanistan/Pakistan/Pushtunistan/Talibanistan, but Holbrooke is working his ass off, things are starting to happen to unfuck things up, thank you George, and you will learn some things you may not have known.

I am glad Holbrooke is our man on this. Stay tuned.

Saturday Emmylou Blogging

Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt

Thank you, GainControlAgain.

A grunt's-eye view of Afghanistan

Let's just say these Jarheads don't work for the State Dept. Heh. They make an interesting discovery at about 4:50.

Did I act like this in my day? You betcha! Some things never change...

Note: these guys talk like grunts. May not be work safe depending on where you work. OK for automotive and motorcycle shops.

Thanks, passivemode. I think.

Smoke This Recession

Mark Morford with today's 'must read'.

Translation: Money's tight, baby. City's in trouble. State's deep in the hole. Nation's broke.

Solution? Upend the system. Think differently. Get creative. Demolish Ye Olde Ways. And maybe get a really nice buzz on while you're at it.

Really now, could there be a better time to decriminalize/fully legalize pot? Or, more fully, to decriminalize pot, and then spread respectable pot shops and vending machines and dispensaries far and wide, instill quality control and decent oversight and then tax the living hell out of the glorious, stress-reducing goodness, as we stop wasting billions fighting its grand ubiquity and instead sink into profitable pools of warm, hazy progress? Don't you already know the answer?

It's difficult to imagine that some intrepid legislator hasn't already walked into Arnie "Pot is not a drug" Schwarzenegger's office and said, "Governator, now is the time. Light it up. Inhale the new reality. Pot is, by a huge margin, the single largest cash crop in the state unless you count porn stars and celebrity rehab. It rakes in upwards of $14 billion a year -- maybe a lot more than that -- and that's just from five clever hippies and a couple intrepid grandmas in Ukiah. Imagine what we could do if we went all-in."

Please, please, please read the rest!

Cheney and the Goat Devil

MoDo

I was dubious about Will Ferrell doing his Bush impersonation one more time on Broadway.

As we lurch through the disasters bequeathed by W. — the economy tanking, 17,000 more troops going to Afghanistan, Chrysler pleading for a total of $9 billion — would audiences still laugh at Ferrell’s lovable fool of a president?

I was wrong. The audience for the Sunday matinee of “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush” howled in delight.

In the show, the former president dismisses waterboarding as a spa treatment at Bliss, and reveals that he did walk in on Cheney once in the basement of the White House locked in the amorous arms of a giant goat devil in a room full of pentagrams.

“He looked at me with solid silver glowing orb-like eyes, and his breath had a strong ammonia scent to it,” Ferrell’s W. said. “And he told me in a language that I knew in my heart hadn’t been spoken in a thousand years ‘Pariff Go Lanerff!’ And I just ran.”

In my opinion, there is nothing even remotely likable or sympathetic about that son of a bitch Bush. If he had stood on his own two feet like a man just for a few minutes, all the destruction we are suffering today could have been avoided. But nooooo...that would be too much like work, and would not have benefited the neocons and his family's friends.

I'm glad Ferrell's show is going over well. I don't have much use for him either.

I hope Bush ends up as sloppy seconds for Cheney's goat devil.